Families in Lisbon, Portugal can now form cooperatives and construct affordable housing on land donated by the Lisbon City Council. In February, the Lisbon City Council approved the “Lisbon Housing Cooperatives” program. The program aims to increase the supply of affordable housing in the city.

The “Cooperativas 1ª Habitação Lisboa” program allows families to form or join cooperatives and compete for municipal land. Once a cooperative secures the necessary funding, it can secure municipal land and be granted surface rights for 90 years. The cooperatives will also be responsible for the construction costs of the homes.

There are already five plots in Lisbon identified for cooperative housing projects. These plots are located in Lumiar, next to the José Alvalade Stadium, Benfica near the train station, Arroios in Largo do Cabeço da Bola (where an affordable housing project was planned in partnership with a private developer), Saint Vincent near Rua do Vale de Santo António, and Santa Clara next to Calçada de Carriche and the cycling axis of Estrada do Desvio.

You can read more about this exciting development here.